Elephanta Caves

It was so wonderful to see Rebecca, and also to take her to see some sights we hadn't seen before.  We had to take an hour's ferry ride out to...

Gharapuri Island.

I loved the colorful bunting on this little boat.

And the mangroves on the other side of the jetty.

You can see this baby's ribs, but I think it's the fattest cow I've seen here.

I love seeing houses (as opposed to apartment buildings) and I loved the bright colors of this one!

Len got a shot of Rebecca and I beginning our walk through the shops.  At the end of this lane we turned left, paid for our entrance tickets, then climbed a bunch of stairs with shops on either side of the staircase to finally make it to the caves.  There was actually some nice stuff for sale.  Too bad I didn't bring any money for shopping.

There are a total of 7 caves, 5 Hindu and 2 Buddhist.  The biggest one is a Hindu cave with incredible sculptures of Shiva, along with other gods and goddesses.  It was used as a place of worship until the Portuguese set up shop 500 years ago.

The caves are roughly a millennium and a half old, and like the Kanheri caves we visited in October, they are carved out of the solid rock of the hill.

The Shiva Lingam shrine.

Nataraja, the King of Dancers.

Rebecca and I attending the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.

The famous Trimurti (Mahesh-Murti-Shiva) statue of Shiva as the Supreme Being, a cobra, and a lotus flower.  His 3 faces represent God the creator, God the protector, and God the destroyer.  I also believe in a trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but I believe them to be 3 separate beings united in purpose.

It is a huge carving, about 15 feet tall!

A cute little Ganesha hanging out on this pillar.

Shiva carrying the river Ganges.

When we saw this statue Rebecca asked if we thought it was only carved with one breast, or if it was carved with two and one eroded over time.  Thanks to the guide book we bought I now know the answer.  This is Ardhanarishwara, a form of Shiva and his wife Parvati as one form.  I also believe God to be male and female, but again as 2 separate beings, Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

Ravana crushed under Kailasa.

I love this one, Yogishware Shiva.  Shiva meditating in the lotus position of yoga.

The island has a huge monkey population.  We saw a few cuties swinging on some rebar hanging off the roof of a pavilion, but these 4 were my favorites!  I don't know if they were Momma, Daddy, big Brother, and Baby; or Momma, Baby, and Aunties; but they were quite precious.

They were all snuggling around baby and hugging each other.  Look at baby's fur-less hand.  It looks a lot like a human hand with webbed fingers, kinda creepy :).

I've never seen a monkey baby this young before.  Her mouth looks like a little suction cup attached to Momma's milk supply.

Here they are again and you can see more of baby's face.  Maybe they should change the name of the caves from Elephanta to Monkeya, ha ha!